My most heartfelt condolences to Neil Patrick Harris on the loss of his Grandfather. G. Walter Scott was 95 years of age.

Everyone can use a feel good moment to start the day. Let’s go with this…

It was March 16th, 2000 when an announcement was made that clutched the MMO community with both hands and thrust it firmly into the public eye. LucasArts Entertainment, the driving force behind Star Wars was partnering with Verant Interactive, the driving force behind Everquest. It was a match made in gaming Heaven. How could this title not become a rousing success?

On June 26th, 2003 (I remember this because it launched on my birthday) Star Wars Galaxies went live. I had played the beta (actually paying for the discs to be shipped by SOE) and had my reservations, but in the end it was Star Wars. I would continue to play EverQuest, foregoing the opportunity to experience the Star Wars universe as a MMOG, but I always kept tabs on what was happening in the game that I thought would take me away from Norrath.

Eight years have passed and SOE has published many other MMOGs. Star Wars Galaxies has ridden through rough seas, not the least of which was the New Game Enhancement or NGE, which instituted such drastic changes to the game that may veterans left, never to return. And yet, many players carried on and some new blood arrived. The game moved forward, expansions were released and most importantly, the playerbase had fun.

Jump to Lightspeed – October 2004 – Introduced space combat.

Rage of the Wookies – March 2005

Trials of Obi-Wan – November 2005

On June 24th of this year, almost exactly eight years to the day after launch, SOE announced that Star Wars Galaxies was being shut down. Many players have been with SWG since launch. Eight years is an enormous investment, both in time and in spirit, so it comes as no surprise to me that a portion of the SWG community is outraged that the hobby they have spent eight years enjoying is being taken away from them.

The Star Wars community, whether it be the gaming or movie community has always been vocal and the closure of the game has only made this more evident. Every game, person or creature has a lifespan. Was SWG terminally ill? Was it time to cut off life support? I’ll let you decide that for yourself. Below are some links from the group rallying to save Star Wars Galaxies.

Patch 1.3 had a ton of useful additions, but none may have the long term effect on Rift quite like that of free server transfers. Join Jason "Medawky" Bolton as he takes a look at how the system is working so far - including more from our conversation with Design Producer Hal Hanlin.

Playing through Rage of the Firelands, it's all about Thrall. Yet the Alliance hasn't really had much involvement in major storylines for quite a while now. We take a closer look at why that's the case.

For months Red 5 has been working with a mysterious writer to bring the world of Firefall to life. That mysterious writer has now been revealed as science fiction author Orson Scott Card, who has authored novels that include Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead.

In an effort to calm the unrest, CCP called a meeting with the CSM in Reykjavik, Iceland this week and it appears that an accord has now been reached with the CSM on behalf of the EVE Online players. More from Reykjavik follows.

Champions Online has launched its new Vivox Voice Chat service and unveiled a lineup of update content in the new State of the Game. Players can also get a look at some of the things in the works for the game in future content updates such as PvP changes, new C-Store items and new powers and gear.

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Three Reasons Why GearScore is better than iLevel...

PlayerScore co-author and GearScore creator Arxkanite has compiled a number of reasons why GearScore better describes a WoW player's equipment than iLevel. Have a look: